Henderson State vs. Southwestern Oklahoma State
WHEN 2 p.m.
WHERE Carpenter-Haygood Stadium, Arkadelphia
RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in Little Rock; KDEL-FM, 100.9, in Arkadelphia; KAFNFM, 100.7, and KZYP-AM, 1310, in Malvern; KEWI-AM, 690, in Benton
INTERNET hsusports.com
RECORDS HSU 2-1, 2-1 Great American Conference; SW Oklahoma State 2-1, 2-1 COACHES Scott Maxfield (71-38 in 11th season at HSU, 100-50 in 15th season overall); Don Cocannouer (23-44 in seventh season at SW Oklahoma State and overall)
SERIES HSU leads 3-2.
LAST YEAR HSU won 28-14 in 2014. LAST WEEK HSU defeated Northwestern Oklahoma State 25-17. SW Oklahoma State defeated Ouachita Baptist 58-38. COMMENTS HSU’s Gary Vines was named the GAC defensive player of the week. The junior from North Little Rock had 9 tackles, 3 pass breakups and 1 interception against NW Oklahoma State. Senior Corey Chappell was named the conference’s special teams player of the week after tying his school and conference record with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the game. … HSU has lost 3 of its past 4 home games, but it has an 18-game winning streak in road games. The Reddies’ last road loss was 28-3 to South Alabama on Oct. 29, 2011. … The Reddies had five interceptions in last week’s victory. HSU last intercepted five passes in a game during a 37-21 victory over Arkansas-Monticello in 2013. … HSU is the most-penalized team in the GAC. After totaling 141 yards in penalties last week, the Reddies are averaging 97.0 penalty yards per game. … It is Military Appreciation Day. All veterans and members of the armed forces will be admitted free.
Harding vs. Arkansas-Monticello
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE First Security Stadium, Searcy RADIO KHBM-FM, 93.7, in Monticello; KVHU-FM, 95.3, in Searcy
INTERNET uamsports.com; hardingsports.com
RECORDS UAM 0-3, 0-3 Great American Conference; Harding 3-0, 3-0
RANKINGS Harding is No. 12 in the AFCA coaches poll and No. 13 in the d2football.com poll
COACHES Hud Jackson (13-33 in fifth season at UAM and overall); Ronnie Huckeba (52-35 in ninth season at Harding and overall)
SERIES Harding leads 26-24.
LAST YEAR Harding won 55-15 in 2014. LAST WEEK UAM lost to Arkansas Tech 24-17; Harding defeated SAU 70-42.
COMMENTS The Bisons set a school record with 566 rushing yards in last week’s victory at SAU. … The 70 points against the Muleriders were the most points ever scored by Harding in a road game. … The Bisons are second in Division II in rushing with 377.3 yards per game. … In the last three seasons, Harding has 103 more rushing touchdowns than its opponents. … Harding junior quarterback Park Parish is second in the Great American Conference in rushing (114 yards per game) and leads the league with seven touchdowns. … Senior quarterback Hunter Leppert moved into sixth all-time in passing yards (4,318) last week in UAM’s loss to Arkansas Tech. … The Boll Weevils are 11th in the GAC in scoring defense, allowing 42.0 points per game, just ahead of Southern Nazarene (57.7). … UAM junior kicker Jamie McGee is 4 of 4 on field goals and 8 of 8 on extra points.
Arkansas Tech vs. Southern Arkansas
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE Thone Stadium, Russellville
RADIO KVMZ-FM, 99.1, in Magnolia/ Waldo; KELD-FM, 106.5, in Hampton/ElDorado/ Camden; KZNG-AM, 1340, in Hot Springs; KENA-AM, 1450, in Mena; KPGG-FM, 103.9, in Ashdown/Texarkana; KMTB-FM, 99.5, in Murfreesboro/Nashville; KCJC-FM, 102.3, in Russelville
INTERNET muleriderathletics.com; arkansastechsports.com
RECORDS SAU 2-1, 2-1 Great American Conference; Arkansas Tech 3-0, 3-0
COACHES Bill Keopple (28-36 in seventh season at SAU and overall); Raymond Monica (11-14 in third season at Arkansas Tech; 56-48 in ninth season overall) SERIES Arkansas Tech leads 44-30-4. LAST YEAR SAU won 21-14 in 2014.
LAST WEEK SAU lost to Harding 70-42; Arkansas Tech defeated UAM 24-17.
COMMENTS SAU hasn’t won in Russellville since 2007. … Arkansas Tech and Harding are two of 38 undefeated teams in NCAA Division II. … Arkansas Tech’s rush defense has allowed 62.7 yards per game, tops in the GAC and eighth nationally. … The Wonder Boys have allowed 12.7 points a game, which ranks 15th nationally. … Tech has outscored opponents 51-0 in the second quarter and 95-3 in the first half. … SAU leads the conference in passing offense (350 yards per game) and total offense (554.3 yards per game). … SAU freshman quarterback Barrett Renner is the conference leader in total offense (392 yards per game). … SAU sophomore Jonathan Weisheit averages 105.7 yards a game receiving to lead the GAC.
— Frankie Frisco
Ouachita Baptist vs. Northwestern Oklahoma State
WHEN 7 p.m.
WHERE Cliff Harris Stadium, Arkadelphia RADIO KHTE-FM, 96.5, in Little Rock; KHTO-FM, 96.7, in Hot Springs; KVRC-AM, 1240, in Arkadelphia; KAMD-FM, 97.1, in Camden; KNAS-FM, 105.5, in Nashville; KQOR-FM, 105.3, in Mena; KFMD-FM, 105.3, and KFMD-AM, 1340, in Springdale INTERNET obutigers.com
RECORDS OBU 2-1, 2-1 Great American Conference; NW Oklahoma State 1-2, 1-2 RANKNGS OBU is No. 24 in the AFCA coaches poll and the d2football.com poll COACHES Todd Knight (79-84 in 17th season at OBU, 107-116-2 in 23rd season overall); Matt Walker (1-2 in first season at NW Oklahoma State and overall).
SERIES OBU leads 4-3.
LAST MEETING OBU won 41-10 in 2014. LAST WEEK OBU lost to Southwestern Oklahoma State 58-38. NW Oklahoma State lost to Henderson State 25-17.
COMMENTS Last week was Ouachita Baptist’s first regular-season loss since it fell to Henderson State 60-52 in triple overtime Nov. 16, 2013. … OBU quarterback Austin Warford leads the Great American Conference in rushing with 336 yards. The sophomore from Malvern is averaging 112.0 yards per game and 7.2 yards per carry. … The Tigers average 264.7 rushing yards per game while NW Oklahoma State averages 34 rushing yards per game. The Rangers average 283.3 passing yards per game, and OBU passes for an average of 160.7 yards per game. … Ouachita is allowing 379.0 passing yards per game. … OBU junior Ke’Vontae Pope is averaging 37.1 yards per kickoff return, which leads the GAC and ranks second in NCAA Division II.
— Steve Rogers